Marjorie Prime (2017)

Directed by: Michael Almereyda | 99 minutes | drama | Actors: Lois Smith, Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Tim Robbins, Stephanie Andujar, Hana Colley, Hannah Gross, India Reed Kotis, Leslie Lyles, Cashus Muse, Azumi Tsutsui, Bill Walters

86-year-old Marjorie (Lois Smith) lives in a secluded cottage on a beautiful stretch of beach. In this remote cottage, time and contact with the outside world seem to be non-existent. Everything revolves around Marjorie and the memories she slowly forgets because of her dementia. Someone (or something) to remind her of that is a holographic apparition of a younger version of her late husband. This “prime,” as the technology is called, learns through stories about itself and its loved ones and thus becomes more and more realistic.

Sounds like a sci-fi synopsis? Understandable, but ‘Marjorie Prime’ is a beautifully measured drama despite futuristic technology. The story, which originated as a theater text by Jordan Harrison, has been translated into an intimate film script by director Michael Almereyda. You continue to feel through the setting and way of telling the story that it was once a play. This gives the film that strange and special atmosphere that ensures that it stays with you. It asks intelligent questions about how we humans remember or want to remember our lives. The “primes” can be manipulated by the stories that humans tell them. This keeps it exciting for both the characters and the viewer how history really played out. Through clever flashbacks and telling from different perspectives, the puzzle pieces slowly fall into place.

Lois Smith, who also played the role of Marjorie in the theater version, portrays a layered and disarming woman with dementia. Especially the conversations between her and her husband’s “prime” are very pure and slightly surreal. It is also interesting that the “prime” has something cold on the one hand due to its artificiality. At the same time, you wonder throughout the film whether the “primes” are really that cool or have a feeling in the meantime. It is as if you can literally look through small windows of an (artificial) soul.

Yet the primes don’t just evoke nostalgia or provide completely adequate companionship. When Marjorie’s daughter (Geena Davis) and her husband (Tim Robbins) come into the picture, it turns out that not everyone can just surrender to the artificial company. The loneliness of the characters and a final phase of life also remain very palpable during the film. A nice contrast to the solution that technology is trying to provide.

‘Marjorie Prime’ is an intimate and theatrical drama with a small but strong cast. A beautifully intimate and carefully unfolded plot with strongly written lyrics. The film asks questions without pushing them under your nose and makes you feel without pulling it out of you.